Cut-off appaeatus foe liquid-supply lines



April s, 1924. 1,489,415

A J. B. ANDERSON GUT-OFF APPARATUS FOR LIQUID SUPPLY LINES Filed July'7. 1923 Patented Apr. 8, 1924.

UNITED STATES JAMES B. ANDERSON, F SHALEB, PENNSYLVAIA.

CUT-OFF APPARATUS FOB LIQUID-SUPPLY LINES.

Application filed July 7, 1923. Serial No. 650,169.

To all twhom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES B. ANDERSON, residing at Shaler Township, inthe county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, a 3 citizen of theUnited States, have invented or discovered certain new and usefulImprovements in Cut-Off Apparatus for Liquid-Supply Lines, of whichimprovements the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in cut-off valves. IVhile not sospecifically limited, I have applied it as a safety and wastepreventingdevice, in connection with a domestic heater, and in that application Ishall 16 describe it. The valve is one which peculiarly adapts itself toconditions of use, and is therefore most effective in service.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. I is a view in vertical section ofapparatus embodying my invention; Figs. II and III are views of it insection, on the planes indicated by the lines II-II and III-III,respectively, Fig. I. Fig. IV is a fragmentary view showing inalternative position a certain part illustrated in its assembly in Fig.I. In a supply pipe 1, through which it will be understood flows liquidfuel to the burner of a domestic heater, are arranged two valves whosecasings are shown at 2 and 3. One of these, that within casing 2, is ahandoperated valve, and a crank arm 4 is shown, by the turning of whichthe valve may be shifted from open to'closed position, and to openposition again. This hand-operated valve is in normal operation anemergency device. Ordinarily it stands open and inactive.

The valve within casing 3 is shifted from open to closed position andback to open position again, by the swinging of a crank arm 5. Theswinging of this crank arm is eiiected automatically, as I shall nowdescribe.

The crank arm 5 extends substantially horizontally, and terminates in aseat for a thrust member. This seat conveniently takes the form of adownwardly flaring cone 6. Beneath the crank arm 5 is arranged a tank 7adapted to receive through a connection 8 the drip from the burner.Within tank 7 is a float 9 and float 9 carries a stem 10. The parts areso arranged that as liquid collects in tank 7 and float 9 rises, itsstem 10 engages the seat formed at the end of crank arm 5, and by itscontinued rise it effects turning ofV crank arm 5 and consequentshifting of the valve within valve cas i ing 3 from open to closedposition.

The tank 7 is, for convenience in such an installation, contained withina casing, and is removable from the casing, to the end that after liquidhas collected in it and by operation of the parts indicated the supplyvalve in casing 3 has been closed and the liquid fuel supply out ofi',the tank may be removed from the casing and its contents disposed of,and then being empty may be replaced again and the cut-olf valve in theliquid fuel supply pipe opened again.

To Such ends, the whole apparatus is here shown to be included within abox-like casin 11. The tank 7 takes the form of a c1311 indrical cupwith a handle to it. Within t e casing and in its lower part is a seat12 upon which the cup 7 may be brought accurately to position and fromwhich it may readily be removed. The casing itself is provided with ahinged front wall 13, to permit of removal and replacement of the Thecrank arm 5 is provided with an extension 14, and cooperating with thisextension 14 is a latch 15. The latch 15 is counterweighted, asindicated at 16, and tends always to close. It closes under gravity whenand only when crank arm 5 is swung (clockwise, as shown in Figs. I andIV) to the position of valve closuref-the position particularly shown inFig. IV. Being closed it locks the cut-oli' valve within casing 3 in itsclosed position.

A bell-crank lever 17 also under the inluence of weight 16 swingsagainst gravity to raise the weight and shift latch 15 from locking tounlocking position with respect to extension 14. This bell crank lever17 is so disposed that cup 7 when it comes to position on seat 12 swingsit, raising weight 16, to the position in which the latch 15 isineffective and crank arm 5 is free to swing. And in the positions towhich they thus are brought bell crank lever 17 and the latch 15 andtheir associated parts remain, so long as cup 7 remains in position onits seat. When however cup 7 is again removed, the weight 16 becomeseffective, and, crank-arm 5 being at that instant in normal operationswung (clockwise) to valve closing position, latch 15 advances and locksthe crank-arm in its then valve-closing position.

Operation will readily be understood. The parts are shown in Figs. I-IIIin the position on its seat.

position Which they occupy While the burner is in normal opera-tion. Thecutoff valve Within casing 3 is open. As liquid fuel drips at the burnerit is carried through pipe 8 to cup 7 and there collects. As it collectsfloat 9 tends to rise.

It should have been explained that the float 9 is of such shape and sizethat when in place Within the cup the upper end of the stem 10 which thefloat carries is aligned With the Haring cone 6 above. This is clearlyshown in the drawings.

The rising of the float swings crank-arm 5 and so, on the accumulationof a certain amount of drip, eifects closure of the cutoff Valve andstoppage of fuel supply. This condition continues until the accumulateddrip is disposed of. The stoppage of fuel then is an indication to theuser that the accumulated drip must be disposed of. It may indicate tohim that his burner needs attention, if the accumulation of the criticalquantity of drip has come about in a very short time.

The user then must dispose of the accumulated drip. Attentionparticularly7 to Fig. II will show that he first swings door 13 outwardand upward, to have access to cup 7. He then grasps cup 7 by its handle18 and removes it. In removing it he Withdraws it to the right (Fig.II).. It'has been said that float 9 is so proportioned that the stem 10which it bears always is aligned with cone 6 above, so long as the cuprests in Now a further refinement is to be remarked, that float 9 isstill susceptible to a limited amount of lateral displacement Within thecup. In consequence, the cup is shifted to the right on its seat 12While stem 10 still engages from below its seat on crank-arm 5.Immediately cup 7 is so 'moved bellscrank lever 17 is released and theWeight 16 becomes effective. Under iniiuence of this Weight. latch 15 isshifted and the crank-arm 5 thus is locked in valve-closing position. YCup 7 is then Wholly removed, and with it float 9 With its stem 10, butin. its removal the cut-ofi' valve has by operation of theinstrumentalities indicated, already been locked in the closed positionto Which it had been brought. In this position it continues While cup 7is absent from its seat in the casing.

Thus I accomplish it, that neither through ignorance nor throughcarelessness can dangerous or wasteful or untidy drip of oil occur Whilethe cup 7 is absent from its place.

When after removal of the cup and einptying it it is restored to itsplace (the iioat then, of course, resting on the bcttem of the cup) theseating of the cup Will shift the latch 15 and raise Weight 16, andallow crank-arm 5 to turn (anti-clockwise, Fig. I).

,he crank-arm may be turned and the valve opened in any preferred Way.The parts may be so formed and proportioned that this Will occur undergravity, or under spring tension, or the turning may be effectedmanually.

The valve casing also is conveniently brought Within casing 11, and thecrank-arm l by which the cut-oif valve Within casing 2 is shifted, mayextend, as the drawings show, through a suitable slot in the iva-ll ofcasing 11.

The valve in casing 2 of course controls the fuel supply independently,`and it ,may be shifted when, for example, the heating apparatus is tostand inactive for a relatively long time, as during the summer months.It may be shifted also in such case as this: when casing 3 with itsvalve and the valve-operating parts are for any reason removed.

The invention is applicable to cut-off valves generally.

I claim as my invention:

1. Cut-ofi' apparatus for a liquid supply line including the combinationwith a liquid conduit and a cut-oft` valve arranged within the conduit,of a seat, a liquid receptacle rio applicable to and removable from saidseat, f

a float within' said receptacle ,adapted .in its rise to shift saidvalve, and means rendered ineffective Vby application of the receptacleto its seat for locking said valve against shifting.

Q. Cut-off apparatus for a. liquid supply line including the combinationWith a liquid conduit and a rotary cut-oli' valve arranged Within theconduit of a crank-arm extending from said valve, a seat, a. receptaclefor liquid applicable to and removable from said seat, a float Withinsaid receptacle and adapted when the receptacle is in'place on its seatto engage in its rise said crank-arm, and means controlled by theapplication of the receptacle to and the removal of it from its seat forlocking said valve against rotation.

3. Cut-ofi' apparatus for a liquid supply line including thecombination, with a liquid conduit and a cut-oif valve arranged withinthe conduit, of a seat, a fluid recep tacle applicable to and removablefrom said seat, a float Within said receptacle and adapted in its riseto shift said valve, a gravity-impelled latch for said valve. and meansheld in active position by the seated receptacle for holding the latchagainst gravity in inactive position.

#1. Cut-off apparatus for a liquid supply line including thecombination, with a liquid conduit and tivo rotary cut-oit valvesarranged Within the conduit, of a `casing inclosing so much of theconduits as contains said valves, crank-arms earned by each of the tivosaid valves, one of said crank-arms lll being acessible for manualturning, the other adapted to be turned by automatically operated meansarranged within the casing, such means including a seat7 a liquidreceptacle borne removably on said seat, and. a float arranged Withinsaid receptacle and adapted in its rise to engage the crank-arm of thevalve, and a gravity impelled latch adapted to lock the automaticallyoperated valve in closed posit-ion, said latch being sustained inineffective position by the seated receptacle.

5. Cut-off apparatus for a liquid-supply line including the combinationwith a conduit and a valve therein, a downwardly flaring conical seatborne by the valve stem, a liquid receptacle and a seat upon which saidreceptacle is removably borne, a float of less diameter than thereceptacle arranged within the receptacle, said float being providedwitli a stein which when the receptacle is on its seat projectsvertically upward beneath the flaring conical seat borne by the valvestem, a gravity operated latch for the valve and means renderedeffective by the seated receptacle for holding said latch in retractedposition.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JAMES B. ANDERSON.

Witnesses:

GEO. A. KINLEI, J. B. GARNER.

